Measure of a Man
by Takada Saiko
Summary: When Nick Fury arrives uninvited to Tony's Malibu mansion, it can't be good. When he demands that Tony use a prototype to retrieve the required information from a comatose man's head, it can only get worse from there. Co-written with Gabrielle Day. RePost. R
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So this is a rather embarrassing turn of events. I posted this this morning before I left for work, not realizing that it, apparently, had decided to eat my edits, chew them around, and spit out what I had originally put into the edit box... including Gabrielle Day's and my final chat boxes from where we wrapped up the final scenes last night. Woooow. Edit fail. Now I have to remember all the awesome things I said this morning while I was still half asleep and writing the notes...

First off, thank you to those that reviewed my the story when it was posted in its entirety. Granted, that was not how it was supposed to be, but your words were kind and we do appreciate them. Now, the non spoiler version lol.

The only thing of any consequence that I remember writing this morning was a bit of a warning that we tend towards the comic cannon in this only in the sense that Tony Stark has not announced he is Iron Man. Everything else remains the same, and I have faith in your brilliant minds that you will be able to fill in the gaps in the movies on your own. Obviously, Steve knows. Tony knows Steve. Pepper knows them both. Etc etc...

On to the actual fic that looks to have a much more realistic word count this afternoon! Lesson learned: no updating before waking up. It's not a good life choice.

* * *

**Measure of a Man**

The deep growl of the engine was a satisfying sound and Tony Stark let the purring sound wash over him longer than was absolutely necessary before turning the key and letting the garage fall into silence. He popped the door open and pushed it the rest of the way with his foot. "Honey, I'm home!" he called, grinning.

"Welcome back to California, sir." Jarvis' calm voice greeted.

"Did you miss me?" Tony asked, pulling a small duffel out of the back seat.

"For the mere moments you were not addressing me, of course." Jarvis responded.

"Every second a torture, I'm sure. Are the kids home?"

"No, sir. Captain Rogers and Ms. Potts have stepped out." If Jarvis hesitated, which he never did, it might have been at that moment. Tony paused.

"What? Stepped out? They knew I'd be back around...now."

"Yes, sir. It was prudent to have Captain Rogers called away momentarily and Ms. Potts elected to go with him. You have a visitor. In the lab."

The momentary elation that had washed over Tony disappeared just as quickly. "Visitor?" he questioned slowly, not really wanting the answer. He'd thought he might sit down to a drink with his friend, a bit of conversation, and eventually his large, plush bed that seemed to still be calling for him up the stairs. Calling, but muddled by understanding that someone was in his lab. Someone that he had not authorized to be in there, most likely. Few people could find a way around his authorization and sadly he was sure he knew who was waiting for him.

"Yes, sir." Jarvis confirmed.

Tony curved his mouth into a slightly sardonic smile and took the elevator up to the main floor where he dropped his bag on the floor and went straight to the bar to pour himself a drink. The ice cubes clinked against the glass until the amber liquid rose above them, and he downed it before covering the ice cubes again. Feeling more fortified, he sauntered down the stairs and into the lab. At the bottom he leaned a hip against the wall and gasped in false shock. "Well goodness me. Really, a phone call would have sufficed, Fury. You needn't have come all the way out here just to welcome me home. I have friends for that. And such a surprise. If I'd know you were here I would have brought two drinks down."

Nick Fury gazed evenly at him from his one functioning eye, never once glancing at the drink in Tony's hand. "I've heard rumors that you've been working on a project, Stark. Something about a chip that can be inserted into the brain that remotely accesses information."

"You shouldn't read the tabloids, Fury, they do nothing but lie," Tony said with a smirk and took another long swig of his drink.

The elder man did what he could to resist an aggravated expression. He didn't entirely succeed as he watched the engineer drop down into a seat to stare lazily at him. "My information is reliable."

"So? What do you want?" Fury motioned over one shoulder and Tony's dark eyes followed. What they came to rest on nearly made him drop his glass. "Is that what I think it is?" he managed. There was a body under that sheet, hooked up to equipment he wasn't sure he'd used in years. If he had, he hadn't been conscious enough to remember. He felt anger rise within him, the alcohol doing nothing to douse it. "You put a body in _my_ lab?"

"If you mean body as in dead, no. If you mean body as in experimental, then yes." Fury said. "I need you to finish your tests on the chips. Integrate a prototype into this brain and get me the information I need from him."

Tony set his now empty glass on a counter and pushed past Fury to stand by the gurney. The motionless figure underneath the thin sheet gave Tony goosebumps, the way the fabric clung to the chin and nose to give the face form. He yanked the sheet back to look at the body beneath. The face was gaunt, dark shadows under both eyes and green bruising on the cheekbones said the man's last waking hours had not been happy ones. Fine, blond hair was matted down with dirt and blood. He might have been handsome in a lean, European sort of way if he didn't look more than half way dead. "Who the hell is he?" Tony asked.

"You don't need to worry about that. He's catatonic, but he may have information vital to protecting several of my agents. Just hook him up and let me know when I can get to whatever is floating around there." Fury said, pointing his finger and twirling it in the direction of the man's head.

"It's not ready," Tony said suddenly, feeling a sense of rising panic. He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to be forced into this.

"Then make it ready."

"I'm not a doctor."

"I'm sure you have a few on staff."

"I-"

"Just do it, Stark. I have ways of making you, but I'd prefer to play nice." He didn't like it. He didn't like how Fury manipulated is work, his creations. He could feel the anger, the argument coming, but he knew he had no choice in this. He and Fury were often at a very uncomfortable standstill between the two of them, both needing certain things from the other and not being overly fond of asking. There was always a certain amount of demand involved, and this was Fury's turn. Tony would get his, he knew, but that didn't make the times that Fury would make his demands any easier on his pride. Or the creeping suspicion that this excursion was less-than-legal.

"Jarvis, call Pepper back here. Tell her I need her."

"Call me as soon as you have it working." Fury said as he turned and headed for the door. He paused halfway up the stairs. "It's a good vintage, that bourbon." Fury said with a smirk before vanishing from sight.

Tony counted backwards from ten, reminded himself that anything he threw would be breaking his own stuff and that Pepper wouldn't like it, and counted backwards from ten again. He cursed vehemently and flung an empty beaker with alarming force, the glass shattering against the far wall.

Pepper's voice filled the room. "Tony? Are you all right? What was that?"

"Nothing," he said a bit too quickly. "Where are you? I need you."

"We're on our way back. We thought we'd be back before you got home. You made good time from the airport."

"Yeah."

"Tony, are you sure you're alright? You sound distracted."

"Do you remember that brain surgeon's name? The blonde. Green eyes. I met her a few years ago in... Where did I meet her? England? No... Switzerland! Was she Swiss?"

There was a long pause on the other end of the line, as if Pepper were biting her tongue. Finally she managed, "Vaguely," but nothing more.

"She was vaguely Swiss? Can you do that?" Tony asked.

"I vaguely remember she was an American by the name of Eleana Lewis and she was in Switzerland for a medical conference where you were unveiling a new Stark technology." Pepper said with a bit of a bite to her tone.

"Ah. Yes. Eleana. Lovely woman. Very large endowment." Tony said. He heard a shift on the other end of the line and added quickly, "to the charity hosting the event. You're almost back, right? Steve's with you?"

"I'm here," Steve's voice came over the apparent speaker phone. "What's going on, Tony?"

"Fury," the inventor said, as if it explained it all. In a way it did, but in the other way, it only raised more questions. "I'm going to get some things squared away. See you two in a few." He hung up before they had a chance to answer. He reached for his glass blindly and then remembered that he'd thrown it at the long-retreated Nick Fury and it was lying in shards by the door. He really should call Dr. Lewis, but first he needed a drink. Well, another drink, as it were. He moved up the stairs silently, thankful to be away from the inanimate body that occupied his workspace. It gave him the chills and he preferred to keep his distance. He moved with motions long rehearsed as he poured himself another drink. "Jarvis, dial in Eleana Lewis," he instructed the AI before settling down on a bar stool.

"Sir, it is getting a bit late..."

"Because Fury cared when he left a body in my lab. What the hell else am I supposed to do with it? I need a brain surgeon and she's the only one I keep on retainer."

"One might ask why you keep a brain surgeon on retainer..."

"Just call her," Tony growled as he downed the glass. This was going to be a long night. Damn his tolerance to alcohol.

Tony leaned against the counter, drink in hand while the phone rang and rang and rang. He almost had Jarvis hang up when he finally heard the click of a pick up.

"Please tell me you remember that I'm a brain surgeon, not a shrink, and calling me at this ungodly hour of the morning is not acceptable." Eleana's cool voice greeted him.

"Hello, Eleana dear. I'm not actually sure what time of the morning it is where you are, seeing as how I'm not sure where you are. You sound lovely and unruffled as ever, and not the least bit like you were sleeping." "Whether or not I was sleeping is beside the point. It's two thirty in the morning, Stark, and I'm in New York. Where I live. If you wanted to call me you should have done so while you were here." Eleana said.

Tony sipped his drink. "How would you like a free trip to California?"

"No, thank you."

"What if I say pretty please?"

"I'm hanging up the phone now."

"Wait! No, I need your help on something. I pay your outrageous retainer fee for a reason, don't I?"

"The great Tony Stark needs help... Hell, this isn't one of _those_ calls is it? I thought I made it clear that being on retainer did not entitle you to one of _those_ calls."

"One of...?" He couldn't help but grin. He heard the front door open and the tapping of Pepper's heels. The sound of her voice - irritated as it was - calling his name brought him back to the point. "No, this is business. Purely business. The plane will be ready in an hour. I need you to be on it."

The pause hung in the air, and for a split second Tony thought she might actually refuse. He heard soft tapping, like a pen against paper. "Very well. Send me a file with whatever information you have on whatever it is you want me to do. I don't like surprises."

The click of her hanging up came just as Pepper rounded the corner, Steve merely steps behind her. "Tony?" Pepper questioned.

Tony forced a wicked grin. "Some welcoming party you lot are. Kick off without me and leave me with the worst party crasher in history." "Maybe not history." Steve said.

"You wouldn't say that if you see what the gift was," the inventor grumbled. "Drink?"

"I thought Fury had said we had a short furlough. What did he want with you?" Steve asked, glancing warily towards the stairs that led to the lab.

Tony shrugged and gulped the last sip of his drink down. "I really do hate him." He reached for the bottle to pour another, but Pepper plucked the glass from his tingling fingers.

"You look like you could use a bite to eat. I know you didn't eat on the plane and it sounds like we're in for a long night."

"You offering to cook?"

"I'm offering to order pizza in."

"We could have Famous Rays if you're willing to wait a few hours," Tony said with a grin spread ear to ear.

"From New York? Tony, you're not sending a plane to New York just for pizza."

"You're right. That would be silly. But, if I have a plane in New York coming here anyway, we might as well. Hold still," he told Steve, who managed to look adorably confused as Tony took his picture with his cell phone.

"What was that for?" Steve asked.

"Bargaining." Tony replied.

Pepper frowned. "Why do you have another plane coming here from New York?" she asked.

"Because I need the brains that will be on it." Tony said, wincing at his own word choice. He let out a deep breath. "Okay. Time to get to work, Pepper and Steve took half a moment to turn, look at each other, and decide neither of them were comfortable with the turn of events. They followed Tony down the stairs anyway, no matter if it be because he'd implied that they should or just morbid curiosity as to what Fury had dropped in his lap this time. Pepper was just grateful the house seemed mostly in tacked. Often the SHIELD director's visits somehow ended in mass property damage done by the property owner himself. She sighed when glass crunched under her pretty black Louboutins and she found a shattered glass on the floor. "Is this what I heard on the phone? You said it was nothing."

"That is nothing... comparatively."

She rolled her eyes, but then stopped short, a gasp leaving her throat in a strangled sort of way. "Is that...? Is he...?"

"He's alive, for now," Tony murmured, sitting down at his computer and fingers flying faster than either of his companions could follow. "I'm supposed to keep him that way."

"Why is his face covered if he isn't dead?" Pepper asked.

Steve moved towards the body and echoed Tony's earlier action of pulling back the sheet. His eyes widened and he ran a hand through blond hair, causing strands to fall onto his forehead. "Because I don't think keeping him alive equates with having him wake up, does it?"

"Well, if he happens to wake up, it might be better for him." Tony said.

"You can't do this," Steve said. "This man's suffered serious trauma, Tony, he needs a hospital."

"Thank you, Dr. America, for apprising me of the situation."

"What does Fury expect you to do with him?"

"You mean to him, don't you? He expects me to bring in a brain surgeon, open up his skull, and implant a device that I still haven't perfected that is - in theory - supposed to be able to stream brain data into visible format." Tony stopped typing, running his hands through his dark hair and landing them over his eyes, rubbing hard.

"I know I've missed a lot, but that can't be legal," Steve murmured.

Tony snorted. "I think we're past legal on this, Cap. Listen, I don't want to be a part of this, but, please, if you have any further options I'm very open to hearing them."

"What data does he want? Couldn't we get him help and then just ask him for the information?" Steve asked.

Tony shot him a disbelieving glance. "You're kidding, right? Look at him. God only knows how long Fury's had him on ice, probably trying to do just that. He's got some sort of information that could compromise S.H.I.E.L.D. agents."

"And if he doesn't make it through the process of the implant?" Pepper asked.

"Then I tried and Fury can't take any of my toys."

"Tony, this is about a human life, not electronics that-"

"I know," the inventor snapped, dark eyes flashing momentarily. He took a breath and his tone softened. "I know, Steve. I don't like it any better than you do."

No one spoke for the next bit of time. The only audible sounds were contained to Tony's fingers against the keyboard, his occasional curse when something went awry, and the steady beeps and whoosh of the machines keeping the unnamed, comatose man alive. Jarvis alerted them sometime later, pulling Pepper out of the near doze that she had fallen into on the couch in the lab, of the arrival of a visitor. Eleana Lewis descended the steps in all of her glory, looking irritated as she clutched two boxes of pizza. "I'm flying commercial back, do you hear me? There was no pilot."

"You brought the pizza. You are a goddess." Tony said.

Eleana arched a slender eyebrow, green eyes flashing and tousled blonde hair spilling over her shoulders. "I swear to God, Stark, if the only reason you had me drag myself across the country was to bring you pizza I will kill you and they will never find your body."

"Not the only reason. There's him." Tony said, jerking a thumb at Steve.

Eleana set the pizza boxes down and turned her weary gaze on the others in the room, surprise crossing her fair features. "Good Lord. Men that good looking do exist. At least your job comes with a nice view, Miss Potts. It's...nice to see you again."

"Dr. Lewis," Pepper answered somewhat icily. "What Mr. Stark means is that he needs your help with the gentleman behind Mr. Rogers."

Eleana's shoulders visibly sagged. "Mr... Rogers? Really?"

Steve flashed an oblivious, pearly smile. "Steve Rogers. Pleased to meet you, ma'am," he greeted, extending his hand to her.

She melted instantly.

"How does he do that?" Tony murmured to the redhead at his side.

"He's sincere. You should try it some time," she answered testily.

"What did I do?"

No one answered him as Eleana moved to what she assumed was a patient. "What happened, you finally get that body guard of yours hurt beyond your own knowledge? Oh my. What did you do to him, Stark?"

"Unfortunately, he arrived that way. Must have been shipped USPS and alas, without a warranty." Tony replied.

Eleana's gaze flickered up to his before dropping back to the man. She pulled the sheet to half way down his body, exposing his bare torso, which bore more extensive bruising. "I have to say you didn't select a very viable test subject for this first run. I didn't think you'd even finished a first round of testing on the data-mind. And even if you have finished a first round...recently, why now? Why in the basement of your house and not in a legitimate facility where I would have all the proper tools and assistants? What the hell are you playing at here?" Eleana demanded.

"She's quick." Steve said.

Tony glared at him before glaring at her. "I don't pay you to ask questions." he said.

"For the past two years you've paid me for the honor of having my name on your pay roll." Eleana growled.

"Jarvis will monitor him and I'll assist you. You did read the information as I sent it, didn't you?" Tony said, side stepping her questions.

"I did."

"Can you do it?"

"Of course I can do it." She paused, glancing down at the deadly still man on the table. "You have to swear to me that if anything - and I do mean anything - goes wrong, I won't be held legally accountable. I want it in writing, Stark."

"You'll have it."

"I want it before I start."

"Does he have that kind of time?"

Eleana stopped, checking a few vitals. The sigh she gave was answer enough. "You two are my witnesses," she growled. "Is it ready?"

Tony glanced back at his computer screen, glared at it momentarily, before shaking his head. "As ready as it'll be for this."

Tony had Steve help him move the body to a place in the lab where Dr. Lewis would be able to reach the equipment she needed. Eleana returned from scrubbing up and shooed Steve away. "This is going to take a while. I trust you can give us some music to create this Frankenstein by, right, Jarvis?"

"Of course, Dr. Lewis."

Tony grabbed Steve by the elbow and shoved a slide into his hand. "While the good doctor and I are busy, maybe you can track his print. Have Pepper help you. Maybe we can find out what his story is."

"She's mad at you."

"Well, I guess that's what happens when you mix business and pleasure, but Eleana's a big girl, she'll get over it."

Steve rolled his eyes. "Pepper, not Eleana."

"She's not mad at me. Potts, you're not mad at me, are you?"

"Why would I be mad?" came the flat answer.

"See?" Tony grinned with a shrug. "She'll help you with the computer search. Dr. Lewis, shall we begin?"

"If we must. There's a storm rolling in. I hope you have reserve power incase we get kicked offline?"

"I do."

"Then we're ready."

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TBC

So, I know I wrote this last time, but as my computer decided it was hungry for words, I have to write it again. Please feed the writers. We love reviews XD


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I have a theory on Tony's arc reactor. I know how it is supposed to work, keeping the shrapnel away, but I've always found it interesting how his body reacts to it being shut off. He goes into cardiac arrest (so he says) when Pepper pulls the magnet out and he always seems to bounce back fairly quickly when the reactor is put back into place... My theory is that his heart has become dependent on the reactor, not only to keep the shrapnel away, but also to run it.

So, here we go. Now the party really gets started XD

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Steve left his friend to his work and approached the redheaded woman who was angrily punching at buttons on the computer screen. "You alright?"

"I thought he'd changed," she growled out in a hushed whisper. Her eyes flittered back to where her boss was working with the pretty blonde, flirting the whole way.

"He doesn't mean anything by it," Steve assured her.

"You don't know him like I do."

"You don't give him enough credit."

Pepper sniffed, not really sure where the rush of irritation was coming from. Nothing had gone right that evening. He was supposed to come home to a quiet night at his home, have a bit of food, maybe a drink, and she would enjoy his company off the clock. It had become more and more regular in the time since his captivity, and she had learned to enjoy it. Now he seemed to be back to his old ways, easy as that, flirting it away with a woman that wouldn't care to see him come sunrise. Well, wait until she saw the arc reactor implanted in his chest. That would be the mood-killer, wouldn't it? Not to mention it would destroy a secret he seemed keep very dear to him.

"What are we looking for?" Steve asked. Thunder rolled somewhere outside, causing him to look for a window and to find none.

"Anything based on those fingerprints he took," Pepper answered in a strained voice. The whole house shook with the next roll.

"Jarvis, where is this front coming from?" Tony asked.

There was a pause. "I couldn't say, sir. It doesn't seem to be a part of a normal weather pattern." Jarvis replied.

Tony glanced at Steve who frowned back at him. "Not part of a normal pattern. That' can't be good."

"Keep an eye on it, would you, Jarvis?" Tony asked.

Eleana remained concentrated on her work, determined to get the bio-chips in place before something potentially catastrophic happened.

"At least we can do this through the nose and you don't actually have to take his head off." Tony told her cheerfully.

An hour and a half passed, well past dawn and the thunder had not abated. Pepper returned from upstairs with water for everyone and reported that even though the sun should have been out, it was dark as night outside the house. "What's the range of this storm, Jarvis?" she asked.

"Sensors indicate a storm cell radius of nearly three miles." he reported.

Moments later Steve backed away from the computer. "Guys?" he asked.

"Sir, energy is gathering at a concentrated level just above -"

Tony turned to look at what Steve was trying to draw attention to when a flash lit the room. The electrical spark danced across every surface, shattering glass here and there. Pepper called out and the monitors began to wail loudly in protest as their circuits were filled with waves of electricity that shouldn't have been there. The second jolt was different, but by that point no one was focused enough to notice. Everything was plunged into darkness, all signs of electronic life ceasing. The lab was quiet, save for the ragged breathing of several people. "What was that?" Eleana demanded.

"Just the first round, I'm afraid." Jarvis' voice said, but the usually smooth voice sounded off-kilter and laced with static.

"We're being attacked." Steve said grimly.

Back up generators kicked in and the lights came on, however dim. Tony left the body of the unconscious man and went to Pepper. "Are you all right?" he demanded, worry coloring his tone. She nodded, eyes wide.

"What's attacking us?" Eleana asked, hands hovering uncertainly over her patient.

"I don't know. Pepper, help Eleana. Steve, we need to find out-" his voice trailed off as he watched all the hair on Pepper's arm stand on end. "Shit."

The lab was plunged into darkness once more before illuminating in an unearthly blue of electricity and heat. Both Pepper and Eleana screamed as more circuits were overloaded and fuses blew. The generators kicked in yet again in the silence that followed, revealing all four of them on the floor, Tony hunched over Pepper protectively and Steve and Eleana shielding their faces. "He's going to be totally fried." she said. "There's no way..." Eleana fell silent, sure her eyes were playing tricks on her. She knew that those fingers didn't just twitch. Slowly they stood, brushing glass away.

"Maybe its over." Pepper murmured.

Steve suddenly titled his head to one side and grabbed his ear. "Ow. Okay, ow, ow."

Tony went to him. "What's the matter?"

"Can't you hear that? I've never heard anything that...ear shattering," Steve said with a grimace.

"You have…uh...better hearing than most, Steve." Tony said pointedly.

"It's getting closer," Steve said, looking at Tony.

"What is..."

A system warning began to beep, the deepest level warning Tony had. He met Steve's eyes. "Oh boy." he said. Tony's eyes widened and he gasped just as his arc reactor went out, the soft glow vanishing from underneath his shirt. Tony collapsed.

"Tony!"

The younger man's eyes had begun to roll back, his face losing all color in one fail swoop. Steve grabbed for him, making sure he didn't hit the ground hard. He was limp in his arms, but suddenly tensed, gasping for air.

"_Tony_!" Pepper cried out to him, at his side before she knew she was moving. Her fingers brushed his face, finding it cooling to the touch. "What happened?" she demanded, feeling the panic rise within her.

"I'd say that was an EMP," Steve managed. "It would have shut down his arc reactor."

"Which would shut down his heart," Pepper concluded, her voice rising slightly in tone.

"What do you mean 'arc reactor'?" Eleana growled out. "What the hell is going on?"

"I'll explain later. Right now I've got to..." Steve trailed off, eyes scanning the equipment in the room. CPR wouldn't do any good, and would in fact probably do more damage. None of the equipment had recovered from the EMP wave, which would include the crash cart. He tightened his grip on Tony, the spasm of his fingers hard enough to bruise.

"Steve?" Pepper questioned.

He glanced at her briefly, his blue gaze fearful. "You're not going to like this." he warned. Before the question could leave her lips, Steve reached over to the closest panel and punched through it, grabbing the wires and yanking them loose with a violent tug. The ends sparked and danced wildly.

Pepper gave a small squeak of protest, the word "no" not even audible through it. Tony jolted violently at the contact, the arc reactor in his chest flickering before dying out once more. Steve tried again, knowing that if he gave up for fear of damaging his friend he had condemned him. Thankfully the second round was enough to shock the reactor back to life, the blue light glowing eerily in the mostly darkened lab. The dark haired inventor still lay still on the cool floor, eyes shut. His only movement was the now shallow rise and fall of his chest and slight twitch in his fingers, but otherwise he showed no sign of waking. The color had not returned and his skin was frightening cool to the touch.

"Tony?" Steve murmured, brushing the younger man's hair out of his face. "Tony?" He glanced up to see Pepper staring at them with wide, fearful eyes, tears streaming down her freckled face. She looked ready to burst into hysterical sobs when her boss came awake very suddenly, as if from a nightmare, his dark eyes wide and wild. Steve backed off instantly, allowing him to get his bearings.

Tony clutched a hand to his chest, taking in several ragged breaths and waited for the world to stop spinning and the stars to fade from his vision. He blindly reached to his side and Pepper automatically took his hand, reassured only when he squeezed her fingers. He looked at Steve. "Thanks. I think." He rasped.

Steve smiled hesitantly. "You're welcome."

Tony closed his eyes. "Jarvis? More fun than you can handle? Give me a diagnostic reading on the house." An ominous silence was all the response he received.

"Maybe he's still rebooting." Steve suggested.

Tony started dragging himself to his feet. "Jarvis?" he called again. He wasn't going to panic, not yet. Two lightning strikes and an EMP pulse were a lot to recover from, even for Jarvis. It would take a couple of minutes for everything to kick back in. "Jarvis?"

The silence was deafening and Tony felt his entire body tremble. He wasn't sure if it were the aftereffects of his heart stopping, the electrical shock that Steve had put him through, or the fact that his AI was unresponsive. Entirely unresponsive. He felt Steve's strong hands on his shoulders and realized that his knees had given out. Slowly he got his feet under him, waving the taller man off with a strained, unconvincing smile, and stumbled his way to the closest screens. The computers were still dead. Nothing came alive under his touch and he felt a cold chill grip at him. He was pretty sure by this point it had nothing to do with either his heart or the shock.

"Stark?" the all-but-forgotten Dr. Lewis murmured from a few feet away.

"Not now." Tony growled. He began hitting keys, hitting them harder and harder when they gave no response. "Steve, get me a generator running. I've got to access the base code and see what's going on in there." Tony demanded.

Steve nodded. "Okay, Tony."

"Stark," Eleana tried again only to be met with a look of such fury she couldn't speak.

"If that thing is still kicking, roll it out of the way and we'll ship it back in the morning. I might be generous and not even ask for a refund." Tony said.

Pepper reached out towards him. "Tony, maybe you should take it easy for just a few minutes while Steve gets the generator started."

"No. I can't waste time. This happened because of that," Tony said, pointing at the body, "and the sooner I can find out who did this the sooner I can return the favor. I said roll it out of the way!" he nearly shouted.

Eleana nodded slowly, watching the patient's fingers. "Okay, Tony. I'll roll him out of the way."

"Where the hell is that generator, Cap?"

"Almost up," the blond answered easily, coming back around the corner as the lights flickered back on. They dimmed a bit as Tony urged the computers into motion.

"Let me help you," Steve offered as he took hold of he gurney. "Is he still alive?"

"Yes," Eleana whispered.

The movement was sudden, a flurry of motion that caused both blonds the step back away, the doctor giving a sharp cry. The man sat up, almost as if he were simply waking from a dream, eyes wide and fingers twitching again at his sides. His lips were moving, as if he meant to be speaking, but no audible words left his throat.

"Shouldn't he still be out?" Pepper demanded, backing away from the sight.

"Should be. Not," Eleana responded.

His lips stopped and he blinked, his face void of any emotion. "Calculations..." he said, his voice sounding raw and strange. "Calculations indicate...Immediate threat. Unable to pull... Tower. Unable to upload..."

"That's not his voice," Eleana whispered, visibly shaken.

"Whose voice?" Steve asked.

Tony stepped closer. "It sounds almost like..."

Pale blue eyes focused on the inventor. "Unable to access...unable to upload...Hurts? Tower initiating another attack..."

Eleana let out a soft gasp. "Get me the gloves. Tony! Where are the gloves?" she cried.

It took him a minute to look away from those eyes, both focused and unfocused, both seeing everything and seeing nothing at all. He went to a counter and brought back a box containing two fingertip gloves. Eleana grabbed the right one and fit the finger pads over the patient's hand, leading the thin wire from the fingertip pad up the middle of each finger where the wires met in the middle of the hand and then connected to a wristband that held it in place. She repeated the process on the left and hefted a laptop off a counter and placed it in his lap. He looked from her to Steve, to Pepper, before looking at Tony again. His fingers hovered over the keys. "Go on," Tony said, half afraid of what was about to happen.

The patient let his fingers hit the keyboard, and his fingers instantly flew as if he and the machine were connected. Slowly, several of the other screens in the room began to come back online. "Systems badly damaged. Security breach risk at 84%. Memory banks also affect, further diagnostics needed for more accurate data." The calm voice announced.

Tony backed up until he ran into Steve. "Jarvis?" he asked. The man looked up, almost expectantly.

* * *

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: So, I think I'm going to finally learn my lesson about trying to introduce my mother to movies. I thought "she liked Iron Man, maybe she'll like Thor, and I just bot the pretty bluray etc etc..." Sigh. No Loki-love from her. Not even a Thor fan. Well, at least I loved it all over again...

* * *

"Oh my God. Oh my God." Tony muttered. He turned on Eleana. "What the hell did you do?" he demanded.

Pepper touched the man's knee. "Do you know who I am?" she asked softly.

"Of course. Pepper Potts, CEO of Stark Industries. Friend, confidante, and would be lover of Tony Stark." His gaze shifted. "Captain Steve Rogers, World War II hero Captain America. Tony Stark, Iron Man. Eleana Lewis, former operative of Tower, now agent of SHIELD."

"Well that levels the playing field."

Pepper swatted Steve on the arm, but he flashed her a grin and was instantly forgiven. Jarvis tilted his head in a way that Tony had always envisioned him doing when he spoke. "Forgive me, sir, but your usual filing systems have been corrupted. Was that... confidential?"

"Yeah," Tony croaked. "Just a bit, but at least it's on all ends."

"I hate to break this up, but did you say that Tower is initiating another attack?" Eleana asked sternly, bringing the living AI system's gaze to fall on her.

"Um and when were you going to tell me that you work for Nick Fury?" Tony asked, pointing a finger at her.

Eleana smiled crookedly. "Hmm. Never. Jarvis?"

"Forgive me. I'm...re-orienting myself with the scanners. I am not sure if another attack is eminent or if that is residual information from the electricity overload."

Tony frowned. "Are you...hurt?"

"I do not think so, sir. I will run a body diagnostic check momentarily. Ow!" Jarvis looked startled and grabbed his arm, causing one of the screens on the wall to flicker momentarily.

Eleana held the tong in one hand and propped the other on her hip. "Pain receptors seem to be functioning. I'll need to do a complete physical check up just to be safe. You are a body now, Jarvis. You'll have to sleep. Eat. Things like that."

"I just want to clarify that this is not normal," Steve murmured. All eyes turned to him and he could feel his face heating up momentarily. "What? I still don't completely get him when he's a voice in the room, much less _this_."

"I don't think you're alone in that," Pepper agreed.

"The electrical shock and EMP combo must set off some of the deeper preservation codes I have installed," Tony mumbled, suddenly seating himself on the gurney next to Jarvis. "The fact that it hooked your personality into this guy's brain is... fantastic."

"Is he still in there?" Eleana asked cautiously.

"Hey, Doc, no questions from you until we have answers. SHIELD, really? How much did Fury tell you and how much do you know about this Tower group? Who the hell was this guy before... Well. Who was he?"

"His name was Travis Winters. He was an operative of Tower until about a year ago, when I heard he went rogue. We worked together frequently until Nick Fury made me an offer and the means to safely leave Tower behind. I knew both you and Captain Roger's secret identities, but Fury didn't tell me that he had located Winters or that he was bringing him to you. I hadn't spoken to him in a long time." Eleana said quietly.

"Her story is true, as much as I can confirm from the files I have access to." Jarvis said. He closed his eyes, shoulders slumping slightly.

"I'm going to kill Fury. Kill him," Tony growled. He stopped his tirade short, dark eyes flickering to the AI. "Jarvis? You okay?"

"I do not know, sir," came the shaken answer.

Eleana gave a low growl of frustration. "Look, we seem to be in the clear for right now. Stark, you took a hit. Shut up, don't start arguing. You look about ready to fall over any second. I'll give him a thorough look-over. Captain Rogers, maybe you should help him up to bed."

"I'm not going anywhere until-"

"Can you access your files without him?" Eleana snapped.

Tony stopped. He didn't honestly know. Jarvis _was_ his operating system, in a way.

"I'll call you when I know something. For now, your doctor's orders are to go upstairs before you pass out and I have to choose the computer over you and look biased."

Pepper squeezed his arm. "I'll stay with Eleana and Jarvis. She's right. You need to rest. I'll come to you right away if anything changes."

Tony nodded and felt his body giving into the demand for rest before his mind would when Steve carefully took his elbow. Tony resisted the urge to collapse against him completely. Before he let Steve lead him away he called out to his AI. "You'll be fine, Jarvis. I promise."

Jarvis opened his eyes briefly, a smile tugging at his lips. "Yes, sir."

Pepper watched until the two men disappeared in the elevator before she turned blue eyes on the blonde woman. "You're on our side, right?" she demanded very suddenly.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" the other answered irritably as she began collecting the equipment she needed.

"I mean... You won't hurt them? Either of them?"

"I'm a doctor, Miss Potts. I prefer healing as to hurting, if I have my druthers." She held a light to Jarvis' eyes and instructed him to look straight ahead, then to follow the light. "So, would-be lovers?"

"My apologies, Miss Potts." Jarvis murmured.

Pepper flushed slightly. "It's fine, Jarvis. And none of your business, Doctor Lewis."

"You're a patient woman. A good woman." Eleana said, tugging a stethoscope loose from the standing tray next to the gurney and hooking it around her neck. "It's difficult to take a lover you know is constantly in the line of fire," Eleana added softly.

"That has nothing to do with it," Pepper snapped, flushing even deeper.

"You're worried he'll stray?"

"No!" She let out a frustrated sigh. "No. I'm not worried he'll... No."

"Could have fooled me."

"You don't know anything about us."

A knowing smile crossed the blonde's lips and she looked satisfied, but Pepper didn't know if it were because of her work with Jarvis or because she had gotten her so riled up. "I knew more than any of you could have imagined. What makes you think I don't know anything about you and Tony?" she asked, almost purring the man's name.

"He's changed," Pepper assured her. "What can I get you to make this go faster?"

"A cup of coffee wouldn't be amiss. Jarvis, I need to run some tests and make some adjustments to make sure your receptors are properly configured and won't overload Trav-your brain. First, can you tell me if you recognize pain receptors? Fatigue or hunger?" Eleana asked gently, recording his vitals as she went.

"Pain...I recognize where there should be pain but I don't believe I'm feeling it at a proper percentage. This form has seen better days, I'm afraid. Fatigue...yes. I have so much to do, but I can't run everything as fast as I'm programmed to function. Hunger...no. I do not...no." Jarvis said, carefully considering each point.

"Okay. That's good. The body, ah, your body is probably in shock due to so much physical and mental strain plus I did administer some pain medication before we began earlier. We won't worry about that for now as long as you don't strain yourself and I do a thorough physical check. The sedative will help you sleep. I'm not sure you'll be able to run like you know you are capable of, even with the gloves and being connected to the mainframe. You aren't Tron, but I'm sure Tony can help make adjustments once he's rested. We'll see about hunger again when you wake up." Eleana said.

Pepper was returning with a cup of coffee as the blonde doctor stepped out of the room and let the door shut softly behind her. "He's resting."

Pepper only nodded and presented the coffee. Eleana took it and gave her what might have been a sad smile before brining it to her lips. After a long sip she glanced at the redhead. "You really are something special, aren't you?" Pepper felt a glare forming and pushed it away. "No," the doctor murmured and continued to sip on her drink. "I'm serious. I don't claim to know Tony well. Hell, I don't think I _want_ to know him well, but I do know people. I can only guess at most of the pieces of information that followed Afghanistan, but I'd wager every penny of my retainer that he pays me that you're the reason he didn't lose it." She sighed heavily. "I'm going to go wash up. Let me know if anything changes." With that, she left Pepper alone with a sleeping Jarvis to chew over her words.

* * *

Steve had all but carried Tony up the stairs to his bedroom. He had only seen the room once, on his first visit when the younger man had given him a tour of his Malibu mansion, but it seemed little changed. He eased the half-conscious inventor onto the bed. A short, pained groan escaped Tony's lips and his eyes

Steve carefully sat down on the edge of the bed. "Are you okay? Do you need anything?" he asked softly.

"Advil." Tony groaned. Steve stood and Tony grabbed his wrist. "A lot of Advil." he emphasized, not opening his eyes.

"Do you keep it in your bathroom?" Steve asked with a grin.

"Yeah. Under the sink." Tony said.

Steve went to the adjacent bathroom and stood in the doorway for a moment, marveling at the vast space before him. Surely it wasn't normal to have a bathroom that was bigger than most people's backyards. When he came back with four Advil and a glass of water, Tony had kicked off his shoes and managed his way to a pillow. From the looks of it, Steve couldn't tell whether he was trying to sleep on the pillow or strangle it. He sat on the edge again and tapped Tony's shoulder. "Here."

Tony reached a shaking hand out to grab at the pills and hauled himself up enough to pop them in his mouth, swallowing them dry. He sat there a moment, looking a bit dazed. The color was just beginning to make its way back into his face, but there was still a shadowing around his eyes that made Steve slightly uncomfortable. Just as he was about to say something Tony swung his legs over the side of the bed and glanced at the door. "I don't trust her down there alone with them."

"You trusted her just fine when you called her, didn't you?"

"I didn't know that she worked for Fury." He glared at Steve, stopping the elder man before he could defend the SHIELD director. "You may not have anyone left to protect, Cap, but I have Pepper. Fury can't go around telling anyone he pleases who..." He stopped, realization of his words sinking in. "That's not the way I meant it. Hey, I'm sorry, Steve. I didn't mean it like that."

Steve's gaze had dropped to the floor and he focused very carefully on the glass of water he was still holding. "No. You're right. You should go check on them." he said.

Tony faltered, almost desperate to take the out Steve was offering but also not wanting to leave the statement hanging. "Steve," he started, but the blond waved him off and looked up with a smile that on anyone else would have looked forced, but on Steve just looked somewhat melancholy.

"No, really, Tony, just go. I'll finish up finding out what I can about Tower."

Tony nodded and headed back to the lab, every bone in his body begging for sleep. He paused at the door, started to say something to Steve, but the Captain had already turned away to put the glass back in the bathroom. Tony sighed, and went to check on Pepper and Jarvis.

* * *

Pepper sat alone in the lab, leaning heavily with her chin propped against the palm of her hand. She looked as if she might be dozing, but stirred immediately when the door opened. "What are you doing down here?" she demanded, blinking the sleep away from her eyes.

"Checking on you!" her former boss answered defensively, resisting the urge to raise his hands. Instead he simply shoved them deeply in his pockets, padding barefoot across his lab. "How's he doing?"

"Resting. Dr. Lewis should be down here soon. You should be resting too."

"I'm fine."

"You're not fine. You looked tired before this happened, and that's been... How long has it been?"

Tony gave a half-hazard shrug and pulled a chair to sit next to her. "I haven't been sleeping well."

"Why?"

He glanced at her, as if thinking about it for a moment, and then let out a heavy sigh. "The dreams come in waves."

"Dreams? Oh." Pepper chewed on her bottom lip, unsure of how to approach this. Tony had never wanted to talk about the nightmares that she knew he had. The nightmares that she was almost sure kept him from seriously suggesting that they spend the night together, even if they were in what he called a "steadyish relationship." She had been meaning to have Steve talk to him about it. He always seemed to open up his father's old friend.

"There are nights I relive it all at once. Sometimes weeks go by and it happens piece by piece. Luckily I've been training myself from a young age to run on just a few hours of sleep ever other night or so. It allows for a lot more fun things to happen." Tony said with his trademark cavalier smile.

Pepper's eyebrows knit together. "Tony," she said softly.

He looked at her, the soft lines of her face and the affection and worry in her eyes and wanted to tell her everything. Every ache he ever felt, all the fear he'd never admit to, every nuance of love and affection he held for her, he wanted her to hold it in her gentle, strong, perfectly capable hands. "Pep," he murmured, looking away.

Pepper stood as if to go to him when her gaze was drawn to the prone form of Jarvis, asleep in the hospital like bed. She realized his fingers were moving against the bed in an almost frantic pace. The movement was so intense his arm started moving as well. "Tony," she said, tone shifting in an instant. "Tony, something is wrong with Jarvis."

"Where the hell is Eleana? She's supposed be... Damn it." Tony was at the AI's side instantly, looking very much out of his element. In the way that he had sprung up, Pepper had almost assumed he knew what to do, but then was reminded by his stand-still lack of action that he was not, after all, a doctor, and this was now a physical problem with Jarvis, not a mechanical one.

"I'll get her," Pepper managed as she turned towards the door.

Tony leaned in, hand shaking as he tried to calm Jarvis. "Hey? Can you hear me? It's okay." He was trying to sound soothing. He didn't know if it was working, or if it even should work. He had never programmed Jarvis to need to be soothed, but he had never programmed him to be in a human body either.

* * *

Pepper reached the main level of the house, but still didn't see Eleana, alarm and anger twisted low in her belly as she searched the first floor, planning on how she would rip every one of her fingernails out and every strand of hair on her head if she somehow put Jarvis in jeopardy. She finally saw the doctor on the patio, the glass door pulled almost shut. She was pacing and waving one arm angrily, the other hand had a phone to her ear. Her blonde hair was picked up by the late morning Malibu breeze, adding more movement to her angry aura. Pepper resisted the urge to fling open the patio door and quietly stood at the crack Eleana had left there, even though Pepper was surprised she hadn't heard the shouting before now.

"How dare you! You knew he would bring me here and you didn't even have the courtesy to tell me that you initiating a chain of events that would have me performing brain surgery on my former lover!" Eleana snarled into the phone. "And I have news for you, you've got a mole somewhere. We were attacked during the operation. No, Travis did not survive. It was a lightning strike, Nick, followed by an EMP that didn't do great things for Tony or his house either. No, there's nothing of his brainwaves left. The first lightning strike did that." Eleana paused in her tirade, hand on her hip, facing the ocean. She began shaking her head even before her next sentence. "No, I won't dispose of the body. Absolutely not, you bastard. Get your boy on finding who alerted Tower that you brought Travis here, for heaven's sake before they come back."

Pepper couldn't wait any longer and pushed the door open. "It's Jarvis," she said to Eleana's startled expression.

Eleana looked ready to snap, but stopped herself. "Deal with it, Fury," she growled and ended the call. "What's happening?"

"I don't know. He's doing this weird tapping thing. Tony-"

"Better not touch him. He's a scientist and an engineer, not a physician." The two women descended the stairs to the basement level lab at least two at a time. They nearly collided with an almost frantic Tony who was on his way up.

He stopped, eyes connecting with Pepper's and she saw the near panic. "Did you see Steve?"

"No, should I have?"

"Why is he sitting up again?" Eleana demanded.

Tony didn't respond, only shuffled the two women in and closed the door behind them, fingers moving deftly against the keypad. Pepper felt the panic seize her. She knew there was a protocol system in place to lock down his lab, but why on earth had he pushed them in to do it? Jarvis was, in fact, sitting up again, fingers tapping and lips moving silently. He turned, eyes wide and almost haunted looking. Finally, the words accompanied the movement. "They're here."

If Tony had thought about it, he would have known he should have worn the suit, but he was running on such little sleep and his mind was stretched in so many directions that it had never occurred to him. The only thought when those two words had left Jarvis' mouth he had realized that Steve had never come back down to continue what he said he had. He wasn't sulking, or preparing himself. Something was wrong. Tony hadn't given himself time to think about what he was going up against completely unarmed, but just that he couldn't let anything happen to the blond soldier.

"No! Tony! You don't know what you're dealing with!" Eleana shouting, slamming her hand against the glass door.

Tony turned to them, and pointed to Pepper and just beyond her, Jarvis. "Keep them alive."

"Tony?" Pepper called.

"I'll be back." he said, and was gone up the stairs and out of sight.

Eleana pulled a small handgun from the small of her back and checked it. "He's got other weapons down here, right? And that glass is bulletproof?"

Pepper set her jaw and nodded. "Yes to both."

"Good. Get a weapon you won't hesitate to use."

"Are they here for Tony?" Pepper asked, already moving into the lab.

Eleana shook her head, green eyes narrowed and expression grim. She indicated Jarvis. "No. They're here for him."

* * *

Tony took the stairs two at a time and almost got his head blown off at the top of the staircase for his effort. He pulled himself back, flattening against the wall. His breath was coming in short gasps as he risked a glance. They were dressed in black, fully armed. The one upside to the situation was it was not his tech that they were using. In fact, if he was right - and he usually was - it looked like old Hammer tech. Well, at least they were using crap. The glass that usually stood between the patio and his living room had been smashed in and lay in pieces all over the floor, reaching as far as the stairs. He frowned, trying to force his sluggish mind into action. He couldn't use the suit in Jarvis' current condition so there was just him.

He heard the footsteps coming closer and just as he hoped, the feet came within reach and he had the man on his back in an instant, fist in his face and elbow to his trachea. He snatched the downed man's gun and gave answer to the hail of bullets he dodged as he mad a mad dash for the bar, praying he wouldn't find a fleet of them waiting behind it. His luck held and he pressed his back against the bar, counting how many voices either shouted or gave answer. He'd hit two with the gun he'd taken, giving him a total of three down. He mentally patted himself on the back for doing so well without getting a scratch and without the suit. He figured on at least four more, but if they had come in from above there was no way of knowing. "Okay. Okay. This is no problem. One gun, low on bullets, no problem. You had better be okay, Cap."

He hadn't expected an explosion. It wasn't big, but he could feel the heat from the blast. One of the intruders hit the wall next to him and he realized, perhaps a bit slowly, that the blast had not been aimed at him. He poked his head around the side of the bar to see Eleana with one hand on her hip, a gun in the other. He could just see Pepper behind her.

"I told you to keep them alive!" he yelled, receiving bullets aimed at him for his trouble.

"What the hell do you think I'm doing?" the doctor demanded and the last man in the room that wasn't supposed to be there fell.

Tony stood, glaring angrily at her.

"Don't you look at me that way. Trapping us in a glass room is a death sentence, you well-intentioned impulsive idiot. These are the people that hit your house with a directed lightning strike and an EMP blast and if you think your fancy dancy bulletproof glass will stop they you are so wrong. And your girl here's not a bad shot, either." Eleana added.

"You...you..." Tony growled.

Pepper put a hand on his arm. "Are you all right? Where's Steve?"

"I don't know," Tony said, grabbing a replacement gun from the last fallen man and headed for the stairs up to the bedrooms. "Steve!" he shouted.

Both women followed him closely, keeping an eye out for any remaining visitors. Tony felt fear wash over him when he met resistance trying to get the bedroom door open. He shoved with his shoulder twice before he could squeeze himself in. The room had been destroyed, what seemed to be half of his nightstand blocking the doorway. Two bodies of Tower agents lay still against the ground and the scent of blood washed over him. Steve was nowhere in sight and he stumbled forward. "Steve? Steve!"

The bathroom was no better. The mirror was shattered, small pieces sticking to the counter and the floor and the blood. Tony reached into the mess and pulled out the bottom of the glass Steve had been holding the last time he'd seen him. "Tony?" Pepper's voice reached him from far away.

Tony swayed, clutching the broken piece. There was no body. Just glass. Just blood. There was no body, he repeated in his head. He heard Eleana murmur something, saw her leave the room from the corner of his eye. Pepper led him out of the bathroom. "Tony? Say something." She brushed his hair away from his face. "Tony?"

When his knees gave way, she sank to the floor with him. Finally he came to focus on her, eyes wide, but he seemed to be seeing her. At least she knew he was there with her, not far away somewhere she couldn't reach him. "Tony?" she tried again.

"They took him."

* * *

TBC

A/N: Tony's having a bad day. Between EMPs shutting his reactor down, thinking that he's lost Jarvis, finding Jarvis' mind in a human body, and now this... Superheroes just don't half-ass anything, do they? :P

Please feel free to leave lovely reviews. We would greatly appreciate it!


	4. Chapter 4

"We'll get him back," Pepper promised.

This seemed to snap him from his shocked state. "No. _We_ won't. Pepper, I don't want you anywhere near this. Please? Promise me you won't go anywhere near this." He was shaking as he stumbled to his feet, moving towards where a phone usually sat on his dresser.

"What are you doing?" she asked, trying to keep her voice calm and steady.

"I'm going to call Happy. He'll go with you to-"

"I'm not leaving you to do this on your own... Or with _her_." She was standing by him now and he was shaking. She reached a hand up to his face, trying to calm him, but he caught it, holding it tight.

"You want to know the worst dream? The one that scares me the most?" He paused, as if waiting for an answer. "It's the one where you're there. The one where you die. Pep, I'm going to rescue Steve, but I can't focus on that if I'm worried about them going after you."

"Tony..."

"I'm not letting anyone else close to me go," he swore. "Not you. Not Steve. Neither of you are going anywhere."

She smiled through the tears and kissed him. "No. And you'll get him back."

* * *

Steve opened his eyes and wished that he had resisted temptation. It wasn't a particularly frightening room, but it was cool and dim, and he was being watched by a man whose expression was just as cold. Unfortunately he looked perfectly intelligent, and Steve might go so far as to say cruel. One part of the wall behind the man was a built in aquarium with a beautiful variety of fish of various size and color. Steve pulled against the restraints keeping him bound to the chair he was seated on, and masked his surprise at being unable to even budge them.

"Don't worry, the effects are temporary. They've already worn off once. You're quite a difficult man to restrain." The man said, taking a seat on a white couch.

"I'd apologize but it's kind of a survival thing." Steve said.

"No need. Your physiology is quite fascinating. It's a shame I don't have time to study it more thoroughly. However, I have some questions, and I don't want to wait for you to wake up again so you'll either help me now or I'll kill you. What's your name?" he asked.

Steve set his jaw and said nothing.

The man sighed, almost as if boredom edged his irritation. "This really is just standard procedure," he grumbled. "They wouldn't have taken you unless they were sure. Blond, blue eyes, but your a bit bulkier than our records indicate." He frowned. "Let's try this a different way: Is your name Travis Winters?"

Steve blinked at this. "What?"

"Travis Winters." It made more sense now. That was the name that Eleana Lewis had given to the man that was now Tony's AI. But hadn't this group had a hold of him before, and shouldn't they know that Steve was not, in fact, that man? He couldn't help but frown, confused. He could handle being taken for him. That was not a far-fetched scenario, but this was beyond what he had expected. Even so, if they thought that they had the man they were looking for, it would keep Tony and the rest of them out of harm's way.

"Yes." Steve answered. "My name is Travis Winters."

"Where were you born, Mr. Winters?"

"Don't you already know?"

"Humor me."

"I can't see how where I was born has any bearing on what you really want. So why don't you tell me what it is you really want, Mr..."

"Carson. You can call me Carson, not that you'll be calling me anything for long. What's your middle name, Mr. Winters?"

"What do you want?" Steve asked again, carefully pulling at his wrist ties. He could feel his strength coming back ever so slowly.

Carson regarded him with gray eyes that conveyed absolutely no compassion. "Tony Stark has been of some interest to us for some time. His money, his weapons, a name that opens doors and shakes important hands. For all his I-don't-give-a-damn bravado he is very careful about whom he sells to and unfortunately my organization isn't as wealthy as we like to think we are. If we couldn't buy him, we'd take it from him. That's what Travis Winters was sent to do. He was quite the chameleon, from what I understand. It's a shame I never met him. Company meetings are hard to arrange when so many people are wanted in so many places." Carson pulled out his cell phone from his pocket. "Ah. There's the picture." He held it up for Steve, who was surprised to see a picture of himself and Tony at a race they'd gone to months before. "Tony Stark and unnamed companion. You turn up in many of these tabloid media outlets, unnamed companion. Long before Winters was assigned to Stark." Carson stood, pocketing the phone. He withdrew a blade and approached Steve swiftly. Steve tried to jerk away and only managed to tilt the chair back as Carson drove the blade into his side. Steve gasped and struggled. Carson smiled. "What are you fighting for, unnamed man?"

Steve grit his teeth. "For Tony."

Carson smiled again and motioned to someone in the shadows. "Prep the tank."

* * *

It took some time and preparation once Tony got his feet under him to tweak the Iron Man suit to run without his usual AI backing him up the entire way. Jarvis watched nervously from his bed, fingers intertwined in the gloves and steadily clicking against the computer in his lap. He never had to look at it.

"I will not be able to aid you in the usual ways," Jarvis said as his creator continued to load data into the suit.

"It's fine. As long as I can see and move that should be enough."

"Not to mention air traffic, targeting, and anything else you take for granted," Elaena grumbled as she looked to be cleaning her gun. She wasn't happy that she was being left as what she considered to be Pepper's personal babysitter, with strict demands that they not pull their earlier stunt a second time.

"It will be slower, but we should be able to make it function," Jarvis noted, eyes flickering over to her.

"Do we have a trace?" Tony asked.

"I have done multiple searches," the AI answered tiredly. "According the compilation of data, this seems the most likely venue they would take as a hide-away with Captain Rogers."

Tony glanced at Eleana, her grim look telling him that if Captain Rogers was indeed not at this location, they wouldn't need to hurry finding the correct one. "Is there anything else you can tell me about Tower that I might need to know?" Tony asked.

"Shoot first, ask questions later. Scratch that. Shoot, don't ask. They won't tell you anyway." Eleana said.

Tony watched her for a moment, their brief interlude flashing through his mind. "Were you working for Tower when you and I..."

Eleana glanced up at him, surprised. "No."

Tony believed her. "If you needed the money-"

"Don't, Tony. Just don't. It wasn't about the money and we don't have time to get into that. I hated it, every second. And as much as I hate being under Fury's thumb now, it's the lesser of two evils in my mind." Tony nodded and pulled her aside. "If it gets to overwhelming for Jarvis to be tapped into this..."

"I'll take care of him." Eleana promised.

Pepper stepped into the room. "Everything ready?"

"Yep. Steve and I'll be back for dinner," Tony said with a trademark grin.

Pepper didn't return the smile, but crossed the space between them. She stood on her toes and kissed him, short, but with everything she felt. "Come home to me," she whispered.

The billion-dollar smile faltered until it was just his. Small, only a quirking of the lips, and a little sad. "Of course." With that he put the helmet on and turned towards Jarvis. "Everything seems online here. How's it working for you?"

"Well enough," Jarvis answered, eyes slightly glazed over. Tony wondered briefly if the AI were trying to focus on what the suite was producing and not his physical surroundings. It was a whole new world for Jarvis.

"Keep the skies clear." Then he was gone. Pepper and Eleana watched him leave through what was supposed be the driveway, off to save an unlikely friend.

Pepper frowned and clung tightly to the desk in front of her. Tony didn't talk about Yinsen, but she knew that the man's death had changed him. She dreaded to think of the effect Steve's death might take.

* * *

"Think about it this way, the temperature your experiencing will help stop the bleeding." Carson offered as consolation to Steve, who was now standing in a tank directly across the room from the one that held all sorts of fascinating aquarium life. The freezing water was up to his knees and he had one hand on the glass, the other pressed against the wound in his side. He worked to control his breathing and the wave of panic that threatened to overtake him, keeping his eyes on his enemy. He had tried hitting the glass, to no avail. "Tell me one thing I can use against Tony Stark and I'll at least put you out of your misery with one bullet. It'll be better than drowning." Carson said.

"That's never going to happen." Steve said through gritted teeth.

"Why? Because he's your friend?"

Steve allowed a small smile to tug at one corner of his mouth. "Yeah. I've just got one, now." The water kept rising.

"No point in asking you to join us, then, if you're willing to die for something so meaningless as Tony Stark's friendship." Carson said, turning away.

Steve drove his fist into the glass again, gaining him the man's attention one last time. "Don't ever say. Unlikely? Yes. Difficult? Sometimes. But never meaningless."

"Then where is your friend now?" Carson asked as he turned his back on him one last time and left Steve alone. The water was rising, chilling him. He thought maybe it should be colder, but the blood loss had already begun to numb him. He felt himself leaning against the glass, the hand at his side going limp as the water began to ease it away from its place. His friend was likely in his mansion and would never make it in time. He wasn't supposed to be rescued. He was Captain America. He... Steve felt his thoughts wandering, the water rising and he began to float upward, his natural instinct to survive kicking in and he tried to keep his head afloat. It hurt. Whatever Carson had done to him had slowed his usual healing abilities and he felt sluggish and numb. So numb that he barely realized that he was slipping below the water's surface.

Carson motioned carelessly behind him and his man pulled a curtain over the tank, obscuring Steve's body and the blood-tinged water from view. As Carson shut the door to the room behind him, a young man ran into the room, out of breath. "What's the matter with you?" he asked.

"Sir, we're being attacked." he said.

Carson frowned. "Get the documents out of the back room and meet me at the car. Is it SHIELD?"

"I don't know, Sir. It's Iron Man."

Carson tilted his head. "Curious. Go." The young man disappeared down the hall.

* * *

Tony ripped through the mansion, scattering black uniformed employees as he went. Steve had to be here somewhere, and he'd take the whole house down brick by brick if he had to do so. He kicked in a set of French doors and found a man in a three-piece blue suit with gray eyes that didn't seem alarmed at his presence.

"That's a nice suit. In my experience, the nicer the suit, the higher up the food chain. You in charge here?" Tony asked, firing up an ion beam in his hand.

The man nodded. "I am."

"Good. You have something that belongs to me."

"And you have several things that I am interested in, so perhaps we can strike a deal."

"I don't make deals with the bad guys. Sorry. You have five seconds to tell me where the man you took from Tony Stark's home is."

"Or what? You blast me to oblivion?"

"I can find him. I don't need you. You just make it a bit easier."

Carson sighed and tapped his earpiece briefly, as if listening to someone on the other end. "Down the corridor to the left, take a right, and then another left. You won't make it in time."

For one split second Tony considered wiping the smirk off his face permanently and decided it wasn't worth the precious second it would take. Tony followed the brief directions, sensors on the suit not indicating any additional body heat signals, which was good because it meant Suit didn't have any henchmen lurking around. It also wasn't good, for reasons on which Tony didn't care to dwell. He found the room and opened the door, his temperature gauge reading a significantly lower number. He shut the door and soldered it shut so it would take anyone following him in some time to do it. Tony quickly scanned the room. The fish in the floor to ceiling aquarium darted away from him as he walked past. A white couch and white rug sat in the middle of the room. A single folding chair sat facing the couch, rope discarded on the floor. Tony walked over and felt his chest tighten. There were multiple broken zip ties, and a bloodstain that appeared to be relatively fresh. "Steve?" he whispered. He scanned the room again, still finding no heat signals. A soft light emanated from what looked like a crack in the wall. Tony slowly went to it, pulling up the mask on the suit as he went and reached out to touch it. Puzzled, he realized it was a curtain covering glass and not a wall. He hooked his fingers around the fabric and pulled it back. Tony's breath caught in his throat, his hand instinctively going to the cool glass.

Steve floated, blond hair drifting up creating almost a haloed look in the blue tinged aquarium light. Red flecked the water in eerie patterns around his body, his blue eyes distant and unseeing_. _Tony's other hand came to rest against the glass, his throat tightening and eyes burning. It was almost like he was in a trance, unable to demand anything from himself other than to stare. He had not been involved in Captain America's finding or rescue from the icecap, but he had done his research. This seemed much worse. All at once he stepped back, hands still out, and the ion beam shattered the glass. The water spilled out everywhere, and Tony, with the help of the Iron Man suit, was able to stand against it to catch his larger friend so that he could ease him to the ground. He felt his breath coming in fear-induced gasps and struggled to focus on the here and now. "Jarvis, I need full readings," he whispered, cradling the elder man. Steve's eyes had slipped shut when he had been released from his icy prison, and he lay limply in the dark haired man's arms.

Jarvis' voice emanated from the helmet, somewhat staticky and difficult to fully make out. "Life signs... holding. Temperature at... below average."

Tony looked around, moving away from him only enough to grab and yank hard against the curtain, finding it dry past the first couple of feet that had been soaked when he destroyed the holding cell. He wrapped the curtain around Steve's shoulders and pulled him close again, one hand against his chest over his heart. Jarvis' distant voice sounded in his ear again. "Heart rate slowing, Sir."

"No, no, no, you don't get to do this. You don't get to be the hero and then check out. You already did your time as a capsicle, yeah? Steve? You listening to me, Captain Boy Scout?" Tony built energy levels into the hands of his suit, trying to warm his unresponsive friend. Steve's head lulled against his shoulder and Tony took one hand to gently press against the wound in his side. "What the hell did you do to annoy him into stabbing you, huh? You want to tell me that? For someone who's so damn charming and sincere and honest you sure do piss people off. Maybe you just piss people like him off. People like me. People who need to be kept honest. You keep me honest." Tony knew he had to blame it on the fear that he couldn't seem to shut himself up.

"Oxygen levels decreasing, sir." Jarvis called quietly.

He didn't know what to do. _Big man in suit of armor. Take that away, what are you? _Nothing. He was had his suit. He had everything, but he was about to lose the one thing he couldn't hold on to. He was in Afghanistan all over again, standing over Yinsen's stilling form. Sure, he'd come out alive. He always came out alive, but how long would that matter when everyone he came to care about kept dropping around him?

Tony carefully pushed several strands of the wet hair away from Steve's forehead. The man out of time at first had been nothing but a thorn in his side, a living reminder of a person and a past he could never be a part of. Then they were teammates of necessity, and when they weren't trying to kill each other worked together like a well-oiled machine.

Tony stood slowly, shifting Steve in his arms to cradle him more tightly. Now they were friends, and if Steve was still fighting anywhere in there, Tony was going to reach him. "I'm going to save you." Tony said firmly. He looked down and his breath caught when he saw Steve's eyes were open, and the man was looking at him, drowsily, but looking at him.

"You made it," Steve croaked, his voice barely audible. He was still shivering, but the bluish hue that had previously colored his lips seemed to be fading just a little.

"'Course I made it. Couldn't let you have all the fun, huh?" Tony managed, his own voice shaking with the overload of emotions.

The blond smiled tiredly, looked as if he might say something, but then didn't as he let his head lull back to Tony's shoulder. There was no visible exit from where they stood, save the door he had made sure to close well behind them. Not that a lack of exit had ever stopped him before, and Tony shifted so that he could raise one hand and open a hole up in the wall. Steve had gone very quiet in his arms. He tried to remind himself that the fact that he was still shivering was a good sign.

"I'm going to get you home, okay? You have to stay awake, though. Steve?" Steve nodded almost imperceptibly, pulling one hand from the makeshift blanket and placing it against the suit as if to steady himself. "Okay. Hang on." Tony launched, knowing he would have to make the trip as quick as possible. The wind probably wouldn't help Steve get any warmer, and he didn't know how serious the wound in his side was or if it would need stitches.

From the ground, Carson watched Iron Man until he was a pinpoint in the distance. He dialed a number and placed the phone against his shoulder as he got back into the car. "Yes. Send a team back to the Stark mansion. It wasn't Winters. We have reason to believe that Winters will still be there. Can you get there in ten minutes? No? Fine. Wait two hours. Take twice as many as before. I want Winters, and I want everyone else in that house dead."

* * *

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

From the time that Tony landed everything seemed to be a blur. They got Steve to a bed, Tony managed to get out of his suit - a more difficult task than he'd anticipated as Jarvis was very much in need of rest by this point - and then was politely asked to wait outside of the room. Eleana would do what she could for his injured friend, Pepper would help, and he would do them all more good if he would go somewhere else. Anywhere else. So he found himself wandering his own house as if he were lost. First to check on his AI, finding the man sleeping peacefully in the makeshift hospital bed, and all vitals showing to be surprisingly steady. He locked the lab down behind him, still uncomfortable with their easy escape, and found his way to the bar.

He stopped, glass scattered everywhere around him, reminding him of the wild gunfight that had ensued not too long before. He was exhausted, having pushed his own body far beyond what he should have. He knew he'd pay for it eventually. He found one bottle that hadn't been shattered in the shootout and began digging for a glass, all the while reminding himself this was no time to drink, but never ceasing his search. He hated the feeling of helplessness and he'd sworn that he would never feel it again. So much for that. He found the glass he had been looking for and set it on the counter, staring at it as if it would make the decision for him.

Pepper came down the stairs and propped her hip against the wall, tucking a strand of her red hair behind her ear. "You did it," she said softly. Tony tried for a smile but didn't quite make it. "How is he?"

"He's okay, Tony. His, uh, body is kicking back into gear. Eleana cleaned and dressed the wound and has him bundled up. He's awake. You should go see him."

Tony poured the drink but didn't pick up the glass. "Yeah."

Pepper moved forward. "Tony, what's wrong? You got him back. You made it in time."

"It's not enough." Tony said, staring at the liquid in the glass. "It isn't enough."

She reached a hand out for him, trying to comfort, but he pulled away. "It should never have happened." He reached for the drink and Pepper caught his hand, holding it firmly so that he wouldn't squirm away. Brown eyes met blue and she locked him into her gaze.

"This is _not_ your fault, Tony."

"It's-"

"No," she growled, fingers clenched down on his. "This is not your fault. This is their fault. Tower. They're the enemy and you have to remember that. You saved Steve. How many people can say they saved Captain America?" Tony snorted, but didn't counter the statement. "You know I love you, Tony. You know I do, but someday you're going to have to grow up. Right now, you can crawl into that bottle for however long you think it'll take to wash the nightmares away, or you can go upstairs and see that your friend is alive."

Tony swallowed almost nervously and put the glass back down on the counter. "Okay, Pep." he said quietly. He squeezed her hand as he walked away, looking back for only a split second. "Thanks."

Pepper watched until he was up the stairs, then downed the drink in one swallow.

Tony passed Eleana in the hall. "Can I go in?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yes. He's quite...amazing. I'm not sure what they gave him, but I think by morning he'll be fine. And in the morning, we'll need to make some adjustments to the biochips for Jarvis, if you can."

"Yeah, of course. He's okay, too?"

"As far as I can tell. Go on, I think he's hoping you'll come." Eleana said, motioning to the door.

After she'd gone, Tony stood alone in the hall for a few moments, hand resting on the door. When he'd gathered himself enough, he slipped in quietly. Steve was propped up in the bed, and looked to be dozing with locks of hair falling across his forehead. He looked like a big kid who'd been in no worse of a scrape than falling out of a tree or falling off his bike. Tony went and sat on the edge of the bed, like Steve had done for him not long ago.

Two blue eyes slid open very slowly. It took a moment, but finally they came to focus on the dark haired inventor and their owner's lips stretched into a tired smile. "Hey."

Tony returned the smile. "Hey. How're ya feeling?"

"Looking for the license on that truck. Or was it a bus?"

"I thought it was a train," the younger man answered with a shrug.

"They didn't follow? Did you destroy their facility?"

"There wasn't time. I had to get you back." Tony shifted uncomfortably. He couldn't stop that nagging feeling that they weren't out of the woods yet. "What were they after?"

"Winters and you."

"Why did they take you?"

"Thought I was Winters. The guy in charge figured it out pretty quick, though." Steve frowned and rubbed the space between his eyes. "Hit me with something in a syringe. I think I might have messed up your bedroom pretty badly. I'm sorry about that."

Tony shook his head. "I wanted to remodel anyway."

Steve huffed a small laugh. "Winters was sent by one part of Tower to get information about you. If they couldn't buy you, they'd destroy you. Another part of Tower was sent to get him back. They had a picture of us at the race. I didn't tell them anything, Tony, you have my word on that."

"I know you didn't, Cap," Tony murmured. Steve Rogers was one of the few people he would take the word of without a second thought. The dark haired man sighed, feeling exhaustion tugging at his nerves. "This is about to get even uglier. If they've been watching me, I need to find a way to get Pepper out of here. Jarvis too, probably, but I can't run the suit without him. I might be able to throw together something that didn't require him uploaded, but we probably don't have that kind of time."

"You know you don't have to do this alone, Tony," Steve murmured.

The other flashed his devil-may-care grin. "That's what I've got you for." He paused. "As soon as you're up to it."

"I'm always up for it." Steve said, even as his eyelids slipped shut. Tony smirked and without thinking reached out to brush the hair away from Steve's face as he'd done after pulling the soldier from the tank. Steve caught Tony's hand briefly as he was pulling away without opening his eyes. "Thank you," he murmured.

Tony didn't reply, just waited until Steve's breathing had evened out and sat with the warmth of Steve's palm against his own. He had to be amazed, sometimes, that for all the skeletons in his closet, he'd gotten pretty damn lucky. He let his own eyes drift closed, the low sound of the air conditioning and their breathing lulling him into a doze.

Time slipped away from him, until a beeping registered in the back of his mind. Tilting his head and cracking one eye open, he listened for it again, frowning. Eleana's voice, thick with fear reached him instead. "Tony!"

The world felt thick around him, eyes dry and lids heavy. He blinked several times, trying to clear the sleep away. As the sound of more screams from somewhere further into the house found him, he was left somewhere between Malibu and his own worst nightmares of Afghanistan. The temporary reprieve that they had found away from a new enemy was now over and he had done nothing to prepare for the oncoming attack. Stupid, stupid, he chided himself. He knew they would come. He knew it, and he'd meant to send everyone he cared about far away and face it alone. Even Steve, if the blond would allow it, but he'd yet to figure out how to do that. Now he could send no one away, and he felt fear cling to him. He pushed it down, Pepper's name leaving his lips as he stumbled from the bed, almost tripping over his own feet if Steve hadn't caught him. Steve's hand on his chest kept him from running headlong into the hallway. "Let me go first. I'll draw the ones that are up here and you can get to the lab. I'll be right behind you." Steve said, already standing with him.

"You're not-" Tony protested.

"Power nap. Does wonders."

"Steve-"

"Shut up, Tony. A power nap was more than we ever managed during the war. Give me a one minute and then go." Steve said, the natural commander in him coming through.

"A minute is a long time."

"Getting longer the more we stand around." Steve said easily. They moved to the door together.

"Okay. Okay. Be careful, or whatever." Tony said.

Steve grinned at him, obviously pleased, and slipped into the hall. It drew almost instant fire, which was followed by surprised shouts cut off before they were completely voiced. Tony counted in his head to thirty and decided that was close enough. He ran for the stairs and prayed Pepper was safe.

Bullets whizzed past him and he risked one glance back to where Steve was getting the better of Tower agents. They didn't stand a chance against his speed or his strength. Though they seemed to have sent a large number, they didn't seem quite as formidable as the first group. He flew down the stairs, seeing Eleana at the bottom. Well, sheer numbers did become a problem even for superheroes eventually. Everything seemed to have stilled momentarily and Tony froze, seeing the man that had kidnapped Steve in his living room. He was dusting his hands off, looking slightly irritated, and murmured something lowly to his goony that had the brain surgeon down on her knees, gun to her temple. Just a few feet away they held a very angry looking Pepper Potts.

"Ah. Mr. Stark. How thoughtful of you to join us. Don't worry, as much as I'd like to have Ms. Lewis' head blown off right here my instructions are to bring her in alive. I'm sure you understand. Now, if you'll hand over Mr. Winters, we'll be going."

"Winters is dead. And you can blow my head off now because I won't give you anything." Eleana snarled.

Carson tsked tsked. "Such violence for a doctor. It's a shame an agency didn't get to you sooner. Now, if it's true that Mr. Winters is no longer with this mortal coil, I will take the unnamed man you so rudely removed from his icy grave."

It was in that moment Tony decided he was going to rip this man apart piece by piece and feed each piece to some horrific Asgardian animal. "Get out of my house." he said, crossing his arms.

"Excuse me?" Carson asked, surprised.

"Oh, I'm sorry, it must be hard to hear me over the sound of the gunfire in my own home. I said, get out of my house. You're scaring my former secretary, you're injuring my on retainer doctor, and you aren't very polite. Plus, you destroyed a lot of my liquor." Tony said, inching closer to where Pepper and Eleana were being held.

"I'm sure not many people have told you no in your life, Mr. Stark, but allow me to explain a few things. Those men-" he pointed at the men that surrounded them, several with their guns trained on the billionaire - "are some of the deadliest shots in the world. I recruited them, I would know. At my word you'll be dead. Granted, you won't be the first to go, and by the time you do you'll be begging for it, but-"

"Listen, I'm going to stop you right there. Seriously, anything you can think up to do to me has probably already been done, and you don't look like the creative type."

Carson let a smirk twitch across his face and he motioned for Pepper. "I'm very creative, Mr. Stark."

Instantly Tony jerked forward, only to have several of the guns get closer to him in return. "Don't you touch her. I swear to God, if you touch her there is no place on this earth or the next that will hide you or protect you from what I will do."

Carson reached behind him and grabbed Pepper's arm, yanking her forward and nearly off her feet. "Oh, Mr. Stark. You are so amusing." Carson tightened his grip on Peppers arm and began to pull her forward again. Pepper looked at Tony, her expression a mixture of desperation and apology. Carson's other hand was headed for her throat and Tony was moving again before he knew it. He knew all of them were about to die in a matter of seconds, when Pepper changed everything. Using the momentum of Carson's pull, Pepper swung her head forward and drove her forehead into his nose, causing the man to cry out in surprise and pain and release her. Tony took her to the ground as shots rang out. Eleana swept her leg out and around, taking down the man holding a gun to her head. She jumped low to the ground, bringing her bound hands in front of her and picked up the gun he'd dropped, using it to take him out of the picture. Two shots came from the top of the stairs, where Jarvis stood, gun in hand.

"The recoil on this really can't be described accurately in the databanks," the AI said in a thoughtful manner, looking carefully at the gun in his hand. He looked startled as one of the assailants came at him, gun raised, but fell suddenly on the floor.

"Maybe you should think about it after we've taken down the bad guys?" Steve called from the level above.

Carson let out a frustrated sound, hand cupped over his bleeding nose. "That's impossible!"

"What? That you're losing? Hardly." Tony said with a scoff.

"You said he was dead." Carson said, pointing at Jarvis.

"I said Winters was dead." Eleana clarified.

"You can't just give him a new identity and expect Tower to not come for what it wants. Winters has information that we need." Carson insisted.

"Winters is dead. No one is getting information from him." Eleana repeated. "We've got to get rid of him." She added, turning to Tony, who was checking Pepper over.

Jarvis tilted his head. "Captain Rogers, sensors indicate that four more heat signals have entered from the second-" He didn't get to finish his sentence as Steve was hit from behind. The soldier managed to turn and grab his assailant, but they both tumbled down the stairs to the level below.

Tony pushed Pepper in the direction of the nearest safe-spot. His dark eyes turned to where Steve and his opponent were trading blows at the base of the stairs, and he leapt to his feet and supposedly to his friend's aid when several more shots sounded through the house and the inventor felt himself jerk violently to the left, face finding the floor in a very sudden way. He gave a frustrated yell as he rolled and heard Steve disposing of the man himself. He really wasn't entirely useless without his armor. Surely he wasn't. He pushed himself up to continue when a sharp pain exploded in his left shoulder, sending him tumbling back down.

"Sir!" Tony turned instinctively towards the familiar sound, pushing himself up again.

"Jarvis?" he rasped. A gunshot went off near him and he managed to not flinch and a second later as hands gripped his arms.

"How bad is it?" the softly accented voice asked and Tony looked up to meet Jarvis' worried gaze. It took his mind several moments to connect the oddity of hearing his voice coupled with the feeling of his touch on his skin.

"I don't...I don't think it's the worst I've seen." Tony said as Jarvis pulled him off the floor and out of the line of fire.

He wanted to take a moment to be amazed at the science of it all, but the ricochet bullet fragment that lodged itself in the wall a few inches from his head seemed to indicate that he didn't have time. He looked at the blood beginning to soak through his t-shirt from his shoulder and winced as the AI probed it, his fingers seeming to know exactly what they were doing. "It passed straight through and just barely missed your collar bone."

"Lucky me," Tony growled.

"Indeed," Jarvis responded, either oblivious to or ignoring - and Tony was inclined to believe the latter - the sarcasm in his creator's voice.

"Give me a hand up?" the inventor asked.

"Sir, you really shouldn't-"

"It's past time to end this, Jarvis. They're not taking Steve. They're not taking you. End of story. Now will you help me up or not?"

Tony decided it must be exhaustion and blood loss that made him see what he thought might be exasperated affection in Jarvis' eyes. "As you wish, Sir." Jarvis wrapped an arm around his shoulder and pressed a gun into his good hand.

"Weapons at the ready, eh?" Tony asked.

"Always, sir." Jarvis replied. Both Steve and Eleana were caught in hand-to-hand fights with the remaining henchmen, and Steve's injuries were not helping his cause.

For not being used to a physical form, Jarvis was a fantastic shot. Tony wasn't bad himself, but he'd had practice. He caught sight of Pepper inching out from her hiding spot once to grab a gun, but couldn't yell at her without drawing attention to her. Instead he focused on then men that were left. He and Jarvis backed up, straight into where Steve was standing. The three men stood with their backs pressed against each others for a moment, and after another well placed shot by someone - they could hash out who had the winning shot at a later time - the remaining henchmen raised their hands in defeat.

Carson snarled irritably and glared daggers. "There seems to be a lot more here than we originally thought, but we only want him. Hand him over, Mr. Stark, and you, your friends, and your secrets can be left well enough alone."

"Life lesson, Carson, but you don't always get what you want," Tony snapped.

"How well have you learned that, Stark?" the other asked and fired his gun before anyone realized it was leveled.

For a split second, no one moved and Tony smirked, a quip about Carson's aiming about to leave his lips when Jarvis' knees buckled.

* * *

A/N: Meep! Jarvis! Please review XD


	6. Chapter 6

Pepper gave a soft cry and Tony twisted just in time to catch the blond AI under the arms as he slipped towards the floor. "Jarvis?" he asked, fear lacing his voice. Blood bloomed from the wound in his chest and Jarvis gasped, the breath not quite complete.

Panic took over._ I won't lose anyone else_, he had said. Not Pepper, not Steve, but Jarvis? It was a strange thing coming so close to losing him twice. He couldn't lose him now. He wouldn't. He clung to the lanky man, feeling himself shake. "Jarvis? Hey, keep your eyes open. Jarvis?"

Carson must have known what was coming, and he didn't fight when Eleana stood, aimed, and put a bullet in between his eyes. "The computers are up and working. Can you reverse it?" the blonde asked, her voice cool and even. When she received no immediate answer she moved over to swat the inventor on his injured shoulder, pulling his attention to her forcefully. "Stark?"

He glanced at her only briefly before returning his terrified gaze back to Jarvis, who was also still looking at him. "I don't know, I don't know. Jarvis? Stay with me, okay?"

Jarvis nodded almost imperceptibly, blood beginning to spill from the edges of his mouth. "Sir," he wheezed.

Tony shushed him, cupping one side of his face and trying to control his spiraling thoughts.

"You have to do better than that. We have to try. No time to hesitate. Steve, help Tony get him to the lab, yeah? Pepper and I will immobilize the rest of these goonies and I'll be there momentarily. Go!" Eleana ordered.

Steve shifted to help Tony lift the thin man, whom they were quickly losing. With the multitude of injuries, the elevator seemed the safest option, and it was several long and pain-filled moments before they were able to lay Jarvis down on the table in the lab. Eleana was right in that everything was up and running, as it should be. Almost. "What can you do before she comes down here?" Steve asked, his voice tired and strained. "You must have had a reversal so that you could read what you got, right?"

"It was never supposed to work like this," Tony murmured.

Steve reached across and grabbed his hand, squeezing it briefly. "Tony. This is what's happening right now. You can do this. Think of the first step and go from there."

Tony took a deep breath. "Right. I can do this. Put his brain back into the system. I can do this." Tony echoed, he leaned over Jarvis, took his hand and leaned in close to his ear. "You're not going anywhere, you hear me?" Tony turned to the computers. "Let's rock and roll."

Steve glanced nervously between the dark haired hero – now zeroed in on his work – and the dying AI. Jarvis' breathing had become more labored and strained, and his eyes fluttered opened and closed, never truly coming to focus on anything. "Where are we?" Eleana called as she descended the stairs in a flurry of motion. Tony didn't bother to glance up as he spoke. "Everything's online and you're up."

Steve glanced nervously between the dark haired hero – now zeroed in on his work – and the dying AI. Jarvis' breathing had become more labored and strained, and his eyes fluttered opened and closed, never truly coming to focus on anything. "Where are we?" Eleana called as she descended the stairs in a flurry of motion. Tony didn't bother to glance up as he spoke. "Everything's online and you're up."

Jarvis gasped, the half drawn breath turning into a brutal wheeze as he fought to get air into lungs that were beginning to shut down. Tony was at his side again in an instant. "Hang on, Jarvis, hang on." he said, half plea half demand.

Eleana pulled the IV pole to the bed and deftly inserted the line into his pale arm. "Tony, I'm going to have to sedate him. He won't," she hesitated, unsure of how to finish her sentence. It was time to say goodbye, because the body housing the AI wouldn't be functional again after the transfer, whether the transfer was successful or not.

"I'm sorry," Tony murmured, the words tumbling from his lips before they had even formed in his mind. "I'll... We'll fix this, Jarvis. I'll fix this." He wouldn't say good-bye. If he said good-bye, that meant that it couldn't be done, and he never admitted defeat. There was always a way out.

The AI managed a pained smile. "I have... no doubt in that, sir," he managed to gasp out.

With a firm shake of his head, Tony moved away. Jarvis' blue eyes slipped closed as the sedative began to take hold and Tony's fingers moved quickly over the keys of his computer. "Ready?"

"Ready."

"I've got a good readout on the brain activity," he murmured, almost to himself as the information appeared to float in the air infront of him. His fingers moved against it, shifting it, placing it in the files that it should be attached to. He swallowed hard and glanced back at the still form of his constant companion. If he had made any mistake he would lose Jarvis forever by pressing the next button. He felt a small hand grab onto his and Pepper gave him the most reassuring smile that she could manage. "Okay," he breathed, clicking for the program to continue. The screens lit as files and data began to move in rapid motion.

"How much longer?" Eleana asked, her voice tense. Jarvis' borrowed body was quickly failing, and she wasn't sure what would happen if they lost brain activity before the transfer was complete.

"Two minutes. I need two minutes." Tony replied.

Eleana grimaced and glanced at Steve. "I may need your help if he doesn't make it that long." She said quietly.

Steve nodded and gripped the railing on the bed. "Understood."

"A minute in a half." Tony said.

Eleana glanced at the heart monitor in time to see the heart rate drop dramatically.

"One minute. Damn it, Jarvis, fight for it." Tony's voice was taught and he gripped Pepper's hand with more force than he realized. Not that she didn't have a fair hold on his as well. "Almost there." The machines screamed.

"We're losing him!" Eleana barked.

"I've got it," Tony announced, releasing his deathgrip on Pepper so that he could allow his fingers access to the computer. "I've got to take everything completely down and reboot it."

Steve reached up and turned off the heart monitor, which was giving the flatline tone, when he saw that Eleana was staring at the face of her former lover. It was odd to consider that he had been someone else to her, lost before she had a chance for goodbye. She reached out and touched two fingers gently to the side of his jaw before pulling the sheet over him. Steve put a hand on her shoulder.

Tony had shut down the system and given the command for reboot. He stood before the monitors, cradling his injured arm against his chest. "Come on. Come on." he muttered.

Slowly, almost sluggishly, the systems began to come alive again. Computer screens flickered on, and if Tony didn't know better, the bluish hues that they gave off seemed to immitate eyes just blinking awake. "Good morning, sir. It would seem that there is no perminent damage."

"Jarvis!" It was Pepper's releived voice that filled the room and a sense of relief seemed to wash over them.

"I apologize, but my clocks seem to be malfunctioning... Surely a lightning storm did not shut my systems down for nearly 48 hours." The silence weighted heavy as the computer's words took on meaning.

"Jarvis, what is the last thing you have in your memory bank?" Tony asked carefully.

"We were prepairing for an experiment, I believe, but it does seem that the storm has corrupted some of my more recent memories. Did I miss anything important, sir?"

"Just a kidnapping, assorted break-ins and me rescuing Captain Spangles over here. Nothing too exciting." Tony said easily, ignoring Steve's muffled protest behind him.

"It would appear that you are in need of medical attention, sir. As is Mr. Rogers."

Tony turned just enough to smirk at Steve. "I just realized you share your name with a children's television personality. Do you like puppets?"

Steve pointed at him in warning. "He was a sniper too, you know."

Tony held his hands up in mock surrender. Pepper frowned and glanced at Eleana who merely shook her head. "I'll take a look at you both. Come on." she said wearily.

Fury was not happy with the results of his "investment," but there wasn't a lot that he could do about it in the end. Tony Stark's Malibu mansion in shambles was convincing enough that something had happened, even if the SHIELD director hadn't had his eye and ears on the project all along. He personally came to escort Winters' body back to base, as well as offer Eleana Lewis a ride home. She accepted, but none too warmly. "At least he keeps a pilot on his payrole," she murmered as she reached up as if she were going to give Tony a kiss on the cheek.

His laughter was cut short at her next words. "You can trust her, you know. You really should." Dark eyes widened as she sauntered after Fury and he shook his head.

Steve sighed as the front door clicked shut, leaving the three alone in the large mansion. "So what's next?"

"Can't you boys ever take a break?" Pepper grumbled, shaking her head.

"Work to be done," Tony said with a lopsided shrug.

Steve and Pepper exchanged looks as he decended the stairs to his lab without another word, leaving a strange feeling in the air. "Jarvis? I need you to open the most recent file up for me. The one in my private folders."

"Might I inquire as to the purpose of creating an android, sir?" Jarvis asked as the files leapt infront of Tony's eyes.

A smile tugged his lips. "Thought I'd test a theory."

* * *

**END.**

A/N: So it ends. Hope you enjoyed the ride. We're currently working on a post-Avengers-movie fic that stars Loki and Thor (with a dash of Cap&Tony fluff on the side). Hopefully it'll be ready soon and we can start posting it up. No title as of yet, but keep your eyes out for it.

Thank you for the kind words. Much love!

TS


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